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Access to Steam is now blocked in all of Malaysia because of a game called Fight of Gods, where Jesus and Buddha smack each other around. No doubt many would be upset by the content of the early access fighting game, but few to the extent that Valve’s platform would be blocked in a whole country.
Yesterday, Malaysia’s Communications and Multimedia Minister, Dr Salleh Said Keruak, called for downloads of the game by consumers in Malaysia to be disabled, ‘Failing which further action will be taken.’ It seems that Fight of Gods is considered so offensive it actually becomes illegal under Malaysia’s Communications and Multimedia Act of 1998.
‘Malaysians respect all cultural and religious sensitivities, and the sale and distribution of the religiously insensitive and blasphemous games must be stopped immediately,’ said Keruak.
Publisher PQube, meanwhile, has said it never received any communications from any Malaysian officials, so perhaps Keruak just assumed that PQube was keeping tabs on all blanket statements coming out of Malaysia. In any case, the request was not met, and the Malaysian government has taken the next logical step, which is to block all of Steam over the entire country.
PQube, for its own part, has issued a statement with a kind of ‘Okay, I guess?’ vibe, and confirms that it has reached out to Steam to resolve the matter. So presumably no Fight of Gods if you live in Malaysia. You can read the full statement below:
‘Fight of Gods is a video game that takes a humorous approach to religion in the same way that other entertainment formats have – across television, film, books and theatre.
The game is not promoting any religious agenda and is not designed to offend. The description of the game on the digital platforms through which it is distributed provide clear guidance on the nature of the game and its content so that people can freely choose whether or not to play it. We fully respect the choice of those who would not wish to play it.
We are disappointed that such freedom of choice is not given to everyone and in particular that the game has been forcibly removed from sale in Malaysia, although no direct communication has been received by us as to the reasons for this. Nevertheless we respect any rules and censorship imposed in any given territory.’
Here’s the trailer for Fight of Gods. You can judge for yourself how offensive it is.
